Plant Trees by Bike

Portlanders like bikes. Portlanders like trees. So here’s a crazy idea: Why not put the trees on bikes, pedal them to vacant strips of land along city streets, and do your part to solve the city’s shrinking urban forest?

In fact, the three-decade-old Portland nonprofit Friends of Trees has been doing this for years.

“It’s extra Portland—and really fun,” says Thomas Meinzen, a neighborhood tree specialist at the nonprofit that also coordinates the rides. “It’s Pedalpalooza meets tree-planting adventure.”

The work is badly needed. “Portland’s tree canopy is in decline,” the city says on its website. Recent goals of expanding the canopy to cover a third of the city have so far gone unmet. The city isn’t certain of the culprit but has some suspicions. Among them, according to a 2022 report, “tree removal for development” and “weather events” like last January’s ice storm, which have become more frequent with climate change.

But research points to a solution: According to a 2022 study, planting a single tree in each of Portland’s 140 census tracts was associated with 1.33 fewer annual deaths of city residents.

So here’s how you can start saving lives.

These “bike plantings,” as Friends of Trees calls them, happen a few times each year during the wet season. At select events hosted by the nonprofit, hundreds of volunteers go out to neighborhoods from Eugene to Vancouver, Wash., to plant dozens of trees (see schedule below).

It’s BYOB—bring your own bike—but garden tools will be provided. All ages and skill levels are welcome, Meinzen says.

If you’d prefer the party to come to you, Friends of Trees allows you to sign up on its website to host a tree you choose from one of 100 available options. Evergreen, deciduous, native, nonnative: You name it, the cyclists will bring it.

By now, skeptics might be wondering why a two-wheeled pedal-powered contraption would be superior as a tree-transport vehicle to, say, a 400-horsepower Ford F-150 truck.

“Coolness is a major advantage,” Meinzen says.

But it’s not the only one. Bikes are also, conveniently, carbon neutral. Which means you won’t run up carbon debt before your newly planted tree has a chance to pay it off.

Join the delivery Oct. 26 in Milwaukie or Dec. 7 in North Portland. Events in 2025 can be found at friendsoftrees.org.

What else you can do:

Gather around the campfire

Tree bathing can be a solitary activity. But it doesn’t have to be. Meetups offer countless options for would-be hikers to find like-minded companions.

These meetups are particularly valuable for people who don’t always feel safe outside. Pamela Slaughter understands this well—she founded local hiking group People of Color Outdoors in 2017. The program offers participants peace of mind, Slaughter says. “You’re not worried about anything while you’re walking around listening for birdsong.”

The group hosts dozens of events each year, and is now a nonprofit, running youth education programs out of Columbia Park in North Portland. Maybe that’s sounds right for you—or maybe you want to help others take part. If it’s the latter, consider donating sleeping bags and other camping gear. sites.google.com/pdxpocoutdoors.com/home

Leash your dog

Portland’s parks and forests are a great place to bring your dog. Just, please, follow the rules. In Forest Park, that means leashes—at all times. Same goes for Portland’s other parks, except in specific off-leash areas. If being a nice neighbor isn’t enough motivation, violators can also be hit with a $150 fine.

“Dog owners do need to leash up and scoop up,” a parks spokesperson said in 2013 when the law was passed. It’s enforced by park rangers, and encouraged by a slew of well-meaning and seemingly fruitless public education campaigns from the city’s “Pettiquette for Parks” to the county’s “Leash Your Dog to Protect Petlandia.” portland.gov/parks/dogs

Pull some ivy

Since 1994, groups of Portlanders have been joining the No Ivy League: the city’s campaign to stop the invasive English invader from taking over its parks, where it soaks up sunlight and threatens trees and undergrowth.

The program’s mission extends far beyond ivy extermination to “promoting research, providing technical assistance, and seeking relevant societal changes,” according to the city’s website. But mostly, it’s ripping up vines, by hand.

Groups meet a few Wednesday and Saturday mornings each month. You can check the web for the latest dates. portland.gov/parks/nas/noivy

Build a trail

Keeping Oregon’s beauty accessible takes work. That’s why, nearly every day of the week, volunteer crews with Trailkeepers of Oregon are out clearing brush and hauling logs.

And you can join them. “Trail parties” are free, open to everyone, and require no prior experience to participate. Future events are listed on a handy calendar on the group’s website, which notes: “Trailkeepers as young as 2 years old have come out to volunteer!”

On recent weekends, volunteers have been out raking at Tryon Creek State Natural Area just south of Portland or repairing erosion at Steelhead Falls along the Deschutes River near Bend. trailkeepersoforegon.org/get-involved

See the rest of Willamette Week’s Good Citizen Guide Here!